


Of First Battles and First Kisses

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: A Thousand Futures of Me and You [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Battle Couple, Boys In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Protective Tony Stark, Thor is busy, boyfriend banter, that escalated quickly, this was supposed to be short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 09:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15927365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: Stephen hadn't planned on date night turning into a full on Avengers battle, but it was worth it.





	Of First Battles and First Kisses

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [【授翻/奇异铁】Of First Battles and First Kisses/初战，初吻](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16864270) by [Clover_cherik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clover_cherik/pseuds/Clover_cherik)



> I swear this was supposed to be a drabble. I am going to be so exhausted tomorrow, hopefully its worth it :)

   Tony was late, but it was to be expected really. The man had a horrible sense of timing and it was bound to happen sooner or later, since he had been remarkably punctual for the past four dates. Stephen cringed at the word to describe what they were doing, it made him feel like a fumbling teenager all over again, with all the uncomfortable formality that entailed.

   Truthfully, he wasn’t completely sure what to call this. Wong of course had no reservations constantly teasing him about his boyfriend, another word that left him grimacing. He would need to train Wong to use the term partner, if they did in fact agree that was their situation. Things with Tony had progressed almost unnoticeably to Stephen, their time being spent more often in each others company, text messages throughout the day, the man’s random appearances at the Sanctuary.

   It had been pleasant and distracting from the daily grind of the learning and watching his title entailed. Tony had been growing steadily flirtatious, much to Stephen’s delight, but he had not imagined it progressing. Perhaps that was why he had been so shocked the afternoon when Tony showed up in his living room, unannounced pacing with an odd jittery air definitely foreign to his usual aura and asked him to lunch.

   Stephen can admit to being woefully ignorant of that first date. Peter actually being the one to ask him in no uncertain terms if Tony had finally asked him out. It was embarrassing to say the least, though it went well, and Stephen could honestly say the idea of this was on his mind for a very long time.

   Regardless, today was meant to be their fifth date and Stephen had begun to look forward to them. Nervousness was no longer an issue once he realized Tony himself was extremely anxious, constantly looking for affirmations that he was having fun, that he was happy.

   It was nice to be desired in that way. To know that Tony cared deeply enough for him to worry about his opinion, reaction to these events, to know the confident billionaire seemed to want to make it work. At least that was what Stephen believed, but amazingly, they somehow never actually discussed what they were doing, what their intentions for the future were. For the first time Stephen was a little unsure whether this was working out for Tony in the same way it was for him.

   Stephen planned to bring it up on their date this evening, which Tony was now coming on fifteen minutes late for, simply so they could be on the same page. He wanted to know what Tony’s intentions were, how seriously they were to pursue this. Stephen wasn’t picky, if it was to be simply casual, slow, seeing where the path leads he was more then fine with that. However, if Tony sought to pursue the possibility of this relationship with committed sincerity, then Stephen was equally ok with that, though he might need a minute to wrap his mind around it.

   A shrill ringing drew him from his mind and he looked down at his cell phone to find Tony’s name shining up at him. Frowning he answered the call, eyes already closing in anticipation of some kind of emergency.

   “Stephen?” The background was filled with loud banging and a swishing sound suspiciously like wind.

   “Tony? Where are you?”

   “Yeah sorry, some Avengers stuff came up and we could really use your help right now.” His tone held a familiar strain that suggested he was in his suit performing complicated maneuvers.

   Stephen starred at the phone in confusion for a moment, he had expected a cancelation, not an invitation to a battle.

   “Stephen? Kinda urgent here.”

   Blinking Stephen tried to focus. Technically he shouldn’t be involved in any affairs that were not interdimensional or reality threatening, which this obviously was not since he would be the first to know about it. Going would also leave the Sanctuary unattended, Wong being on watch duty during his date, but Stephen was supposed to only be a portal away to help, not in the middle of a battle.

   He let out a loud sigh in aggravation, “Where and what are we dealing with?”

   “Thank you,” his tone suggested he was actually grateful, and Stephen tried to ignore the warmth that caused. “Alright, we got er…tech based creatures…kinda like fucked up little spiders except the size of a dog…”

   “Tony…”

   “I know what you are thinking, and these ones are _not_ mine!” He grunted loudly, before continuing. “Anyway, they don’t have mental capacities, their objective seems to be billowing through the supports of various buildings intending to bring them all down, they are concentrated around the downtown area of Sixth and Verner Street.”

   Stephen didn’t hesitate, opening a portal and stepping through straight into chaos. There was dust filling the air and several crumpled buildings. The noise and sunlight disoriented him for a moment as he tried to take in the scene.

   “I’m here, who is helping the civilians?” The phone had gone slippery in his hand as his eyes fell upon the first of the creatures, it really was like a tech spider, eight legs seem to grow from its body, the placements not making complete sense. Its center was one large bulbus shiny metal object while a head sat on top emitting a strange red glow.

   “We got me and Rhodes doing airlifts, Wanda is trying to keep some buildings secure, Cap, Banner, Romanov, and Clint are trying to kill the damn things.”

   Stephen nodded even though he couldn’t be seen and began making his way towards a large office building where most of the action seemed to be taking place. He spotted Wanda and sprinted over, the Cloak easily adding speed, as he brought to life his whip easily killing a few of the spiderlings and effectively ending his call with Tony.

   The whole of her magic seemed to be attempting to balance the building while he noticed shapes through the dust running out, and others fighting. He saw as shield flash briefly, saw a large shape smash two of the creatures together.

   “Wanda you are focusing too much on keeping it upright, it will collapse straight down crushing the people if you do that.”

   She turned toward him clearly startled, eyes widening comically. “Strange?” She asked.

   He hadn’t seen her since the battle with Thanos, so he understood the shock. “Yes, you need to spread pillars of your magic throughout the building replacing the supports as they are destroyed.” He didn’t have time to play catch up here.

   To her credit she simply nodded, turning her attention back to the building. “I’ll be able to brace it for a moment while you settle it, but it needs to be quick.”

   She nodded again, and Stephen couldn’t help but grin. She began the countdown and he braced himself. “One…Two…Three.” There was a loud creaking sound as the whole building shifted under its new support. Everyone including the creatures freezing a moment in anticipation of the skyscrapers demise. But within moments it stabilized finding its original ground with Wanda’s magic as support.

   She beamed over at him and he returned the sentiment before it faded as the creatures realized what had stood in their way. Their attention was turning away from the building and towards them now, looking to stop the only thing holding it secure.

   She frowned, “I can’t do both.” She warned.

   “Its alright, I can handle them.”

   He could it was true, but from what he could see that wouldn’t win them anything. Tony had said the creatures had no mental capabilities which meant someone was controlling them. Obviously, they knew this, but they were too busy trying to save the civilians they had no one to spare to find the man.

   “Give me your ear piece.” She nodded, and he grabbed it. “Captain Rogers, Wanda is going to need some back up over here.”

   There was a chorus of confused voices for a moment, before Tony’s voice cut through. “Its Strange, now just shut up and listen to him. Civilians are almost out of the top offices.”

   Stephen needed to remember to thank Tony and remind him he was a Doctor. “We managed to stabilize the building, but these things are coming at us now.” Stephen was back to back with Wanda, his whip moving gracefully to cut down the Spiderlings that got too close. While his other hand maintained a shield to cover Wanda’s side. “I think I know where to find whoever is controlling them.”

   Several arrows flew out in front of him, effectively grounding several creatures getting too close for comfort. A glance up showed Hawkeye standing on an upturned car not far away shooting at a steady pace.

   “Copy that,” Came Clint’s voice, “They really are building up over here, they seem to be leaving that office alone now though.”

   “Romanov and I are on our way, Hulk is going to deal with the outliers…I think.” “Cap’s voice echoed over the line, and Stephen was not ashamed to admit it was a relief.

   Soon enough he saw them running over, and as soon as they were close enough, Stephen allowed himself a moment to expel a little extra power effectively elongating the whip and opening a line for them to get through. As soon as their own backs were pressed to Wanda’s Stephen stepped forward. Still slashing.

   “Strange, what the hell are you doing here?” Cap asked him, managing to sound remarkably out of breath, though he didn’t blame him.

   Stephen was almost tempted to joke that it was date night, but he didn’t know the man well-enough yet and of course they had no idea about him and Tony. Instead he just offered a tired sigh, “I was told you needed backup.”

   The man frowned at that, and Stephen was tempted to laugh but he didn’t. “Do you guys have her back? I need to go handle the puppet master.”

   The man nodded seriously, and Stephen didn’t hesitate to allow the Cloak to drag him up and just over the heads of the damn things. There was a quiet exclamation of surprise, that he thinks was from Wanda, and a quiet grudging comment from Black Widow, “Is there anything he _can’t_ do?”

   Stephen ignored them, all his attention on a building just off to the right of the office building they had been fighting in front of. When he had arrived, he noticed that while their focus had been on the one building, the surrounding structures had been facing collateral damage, some collapsing and others missing massive chunks where the things had slammed into them without notice. This building was the only one not to have a scratch on it, the creatures giving it a wide berth, leaving Stephen to suspect the person controlling them was based there. It offered a wonderful vantage point and a large number of people to hide behind. Though it seemed they were slowly filtering out of the building.

   “Stephen?”

   He was startled, forgetting he still had Wanda’s earpiece.

   “Tony, you alright?” He hadn’t seen him since he had arrived, but it was also difficult to look up with all the dust.

   “Peachy,” came the sarcastic reply, before it dropped into something warmer, more intimate. “Are you?”

   He swallowed as he landed on the roof of the tall building, a glance around showed no Tony or Rhodes in the sky, which reminded him this was a public line, and he should probably keep things professional. “I’m good, I think I found our man playing God.”

   He had, he was sure of it. Stephen used the Cloak to silently come up behind this man, who seemed remarkably young for someone controlling an army of tech spiders. As he floated closer he decided he was no more then seventeen, his dirty blond hair was disheveled and dusty, his long jacket hiding his slender frame and whatever he was tinkering with.

   “Be careful,” was Tony’s immediate reply. “I’m almost done clearing that building, Wanda will be able to let it go then. Tell me where you are.” There was an unexpected protective edge to the man’s voice that made Stephen smile.

   Unfortunately, he was now too close to the man to answer. He wasn’t interested in making his appearance known just yet, so with a sigh he grabbed the earpiece and tucked it safely into the pocket of his robes.

   Stephen shrugged off his Cloak, his assessment of the boy being that he was completely and utterly human. Thus, he could not, would not kill him. No, the intent of this would be capture, and he had the perfect way to do it. Just over the edge of the building he formed a small gateway to the mirror dimension, and with a nod the Cloak flew at the man pushing him over the side of the building with a startled cry, and effectively into the portal which Stephen followed right after.

   They ended up one floor down, the boy struggling useless in the clutches of the Cloak, safely caught where he couldn’t harm anyone. Something about the boy made Stephen pause for a moment, however, instead of just walking back out. He kneeled in front of the kid whose eyes widened in obvious terror, his struggling getting worse.

   Slowly Stephen put his hands out to indicate he wasn’t a threat, “Calm down, it won’t be so tight if you stop struggling.” It didn’t exactly work to calm the boy, who now had tears gathering in his eyes.

   “Please let me go, I’m trying to fix it!”

   The Sorcerer frowned in confusion, “fix what?”

   “The bugs!” he cried, his face pale and desperate. “They are out of control, I just…I need to figure out how to override the natural control system, bypass their main objective!”

   Something twisted in Stephen’s stomach, “you weren’t controlling them?”

   “I…I was…I’m sorry I…”

   “You lost control,” Stephen finished not having time to play the guessing game. “You had a specific target in mind but instead of attacking them, they attacked everybody going after the most effective way to do so. The destruction of an entire building.”

   Shame seemed to fill the boy’s eyes, the tears flowing freely now. Stephen wanted to figure out what was going on, but he so did not have time. More importantly the Avengers didn’t. If the building was emptied the spiders would just move on to the next most occupied.

   He gritted his teeth and focused. “How many are there? How do I stop them from coming?”

   “uh…I’m not…I didn’t count.”

   “Fine, where are they coming from?”

   An old tech base about thirty minutes from here. They travel from the subway and sewers. I found the base abandoned but the spider things were in it,” his voice continued to shake but at least it was a full sentence this time. An idea was already forming in Stephen’s head.

   “Is the base abandoned?”

   The kid nodded.

   Now Stephen leveled his most sinister look that immediately caused the kid to cower, this could work. “You are stuck in another dimension right now, I’m going to tie you down here. If you try to escape you will not like the consequences. I’ll come back for you, but if you aren’t still in this spot I will assume you are dead. Understood?”

   He nodded again, this time frantically. “Please, just stop them.”

   Without another word Stephen stood, leaving behind some magic to tie the kid up, not too tightly. The Cloak returned to his shoulders and he made another portal out of the mirror dimension onto the roof. But instead of walking into the sunlight he slammed right into Tony’s Iron suit, the portal closing behind him.

   Tony was looking at him, mask flipped up, eyes wide. He gripped Stephen tightly without a word, gaze shifting over him quickly looking for damage. Stephen wasn’t sure if he should be touched or offended.

   “Where were you?” Tony asked, tone unpleasant, layered in worry. “I had a tracker on you and it just disappeared.”

   “I’m fine Tony, listen we don’t have time.”

   That got his attention quickly, “Where is the control man?”

   “Captured for now, but there is a base about thirty minutes from here where these things are originating from. The controller can’t stop them so…”

   Tony’s face brightened in understanding, “Rhodes you got that?”

   “Already on my way.”

   “I’m coming right after you.” Tony looked down at Stephen, “We are having a conversation about this after.”

   Stephen rolled his eyes, “promises, promises. We have to survive this first. Be careful.”

   Tony smirked, “Only if you do.” His mask clicked closed and he took off after Rhodes.

   “Strange? Care to tell us the plan?” Romanov’s voice came quietly from his pocket. Stephen quickly snatched the ear piece and reset it.

   “Alright, Tony and Rhodes are going to blow up the base which means all we need to deal with is what’s left on the ground.”

   “Oh, what a relief.” Clint’s tone was anything but.

   Cap was the next one to echo across the line, “The building is empty, so we are letting it drop, the creatures don’t seem interested anyway. Wanda will be good to help us clear the ground, but how are these things travelling Strange?”

   “Through the sewer and subway systems,” he provided, walking to the edge and peering down below where the Avengers continued to maintain a tight knit circle.

   Suddenly a loud roar rang across the line making Stephen wince, and there was the Hulk, his massive form lumbering toward a subway tunnel. A laugh followed immediately after, it was Romanov, “Pretty sure Hulk has the tunnels covered.”

   “Ok guys, the base is officially on fire, should have seen the explosion. Biggest one yet.” Tony, of course.

   “Tony, we need to talk about some of these upgrades you’ve been making,” Rhodes tone was friendly, but even an idiot could hear the real concern there.

   Cap ignored the chatter, “Sewer is covered, but there is still a lot of guys up here, and some are breaking off towards other buildings. What’s the plan guys?”

   Stephen had one, but he knew it would be distinctly unpleasant, especially with how much magic he had used already today. Still, he did say he was there for back up, “I think I can handle that one Cap. Try not to be alarmed.”

   “Stephen…” Tony’s voice held a note of warning, it was amusing how well he knew him already. They really needed to have that conversation when this was over.

   “Don’t worry Tony, nothing too dramatic.” What a lie.

   Stephen let the Cloak lift and then drop him towards the Avengers, landing in front of them. He closed his eyes, opening his third one and letting a sense of calm wash over him, settling the stress, ignoring the underlining feelings and signs his body was used and tired. There was a series of loud gasps and he knew he had successfully made over a dozen copies of himself. There was a quiet but audible “ _What the fuck?”_ from Clint, and an equally inaudible “ _language_ ,” from Cap.

   Stephen let his instincts take over, sending his copies out with their whips and cutting down the spider-like creatures quickly and efficiently. He only managed a solid five minutes before a wave of nausea came over him, and the copies snapped painfully back into himself. He stumbled not even noticing when Cap grabbed his arm to steady him. The Cloak, however, slapped at the hand and let him lower to the ground gently, where he stayed breathing harshly, trying to get his bearing around the migraine that appeared.

   “Strange? You alright?” Romanov. He waved off their concern.

   “There are still stragglers and the sewer systems, but not enough on land to bring down anymore buildings.” He really didn’t want to throw up in front of the Avengers.

   There was the sudden sound of duel rocket blasters landing nearby and a glance up showed Tony walking briskly toward him, suit already retracting. He brushed past the other Avengers to Stephen’s surprise, so he could kneel in front of him, face tight with concern, hands gentle where they grabbed either side of his face, searching once again.

   A blush spread up his cheeks unbidden, “Tony I’m fine.”

   He narrowed his eyes, “I told you to be careful and instead you go and make a dozen magical copies of yourself!”

   Stephen wanted to be mad, hated being talked down to like a child, especially given the audience, but the way Tony was looking at him betrayed a nervous, unease in the man. A fear that had obviously become prominent from the moment he asked Stephen to help. He could understand it, so instead of angry he tried to sooth the other man.

   “I’ll be fine after a nap.” He never said he was good at it.

   Tony rolled his eyes and helped him up, with no little support from the Cloak. “We are going back to my place. I’ll call Wong, he can handle whoever you have in your prison.”

   There was a clearing of throats. It was Captain Rogers, “Thank you, we appreciate the help.” Stephen smiled lightly, hoping his blush was gone. “I guess this makes you an Avenger now.”

   “No-”  

   “Yes-”

   He and Tony said at the same time. Stephen glared, and Tony grinned, “We’ll discuss it over dinner love.”

   Stephen opened his mouth to argue, only to stop dead at that sentence and the warmth in Tony’s eyes. A glance at the other Avengers showed Cap already walking off with Wanda, who shot him a grateful smile, to find the stragglers, Hawkeye taking money subtly from Black Widow a quiet “knew it,” coming from his mouth, and Rhodes looking at him closely, something akin to approval there.

   As Tony began walking them away, something sweet and warm grew in his chest. How had he ever thought this would be casual with Tony? It was entirely possible the man didn’t know the meaning of the word, though history would suggest otherwise.

   “Hey,” Stephen looked down at Tony where he had stopped, hands returning to either side of his face, “didn’t really want to do this in front of them.”

   He looked at the man in confusion. Then quickly Tony was reaching up, one hand on Stephen’s neck pulling his down, until he could press his lips gently to Stephen’s. A moan slipped out as he deepened it, his own hands going around Tony’s waist, the pressure of his lip moving in tandem with his own leaving him more then a little lightheaded. It was the first time Tony had kissed him, and he was more then a little embarrassed at how heavily he leaned into the other man, he would blame it on the magical exhaustion.

   When Tony finally pulled away Stephen looked down at his grinning face, “I waited way to long to do that.”

   Stephen was inclined to agree.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok guys so I don't think I'll be able to upload tomorrow due to some personal events, but at least you get this plus seize, unplanned story? Worth it right? I plan to be back on Sunday, however.  
> Please let me know what you guys think! This was my first time working with so many characters and doing a battle scene :)


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